Closing pitcher Scott Downs #37 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitches during the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The Angels of Anaheim defeated the Indians 2-1.

Catcher Bobby Wilson #46 talks with starting pitcher Dan Haren #24 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, during the seventh inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

Relief pitcher Joe Smith #38 of the Cleveland Indians throws out Howard Kendrick (not shown) #47 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

Albert Pujols #5 and Torii Hunter #48 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim celebrate after defeating the Cleveland Indians 2-1 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

Catcher Bobby Wilson #46 and closing pitcher Scott Downs #37 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim celebrate after defeating the Cleveland Indians 2-1 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

Second baseman Howard Kendrick #47 and right fielder Torii Hunter #48 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim nearly collide but make the catch on a pop fly hit by Carlos Santana of the Cleveland Indians during the seventh inning at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

Right fielder Aaron Cunningham #2 of the Cleveland Indians catches a fly ball hit by Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the first inning at Progressive Field] in Cleveland.

Mark Trumbo #44 celebrates with Torii Hunter #48 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim after Hunter hit a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

Torii Hunter #48 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim watches a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

CLEVELAND – When Dan Haren finished his rain-delayed warmup in the Angels bullpen before Saturday’s game, he might have been tempted to snip the wires to the phone as he left.

Haren did the next best thing, pitching eight strong innings and handing the ball – and a one-run lead – directly over to the Angels’ new closer Scott Downs. Downs closed it out with a drama-free ninth inning as the Angels snapped their five-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

“He bulldogged it for us today,” said Angels veteran Torii Hunter who homered for the second consecutive game. “A hundred and twenty pitches? (It was 119.) He wanted that win.

“I shook his hand and I shook it hard. I looked him in the eye and I told him, ‘Thank you.'”

Haren’s victory was welcome relief – two words that have not been in close company around the Angels recently.

Saturday was the Angels’ fourth consecutive one-run game but the first they had won since last September, a stretch of 11 consecutive one-run defeats that was the major leagues’ longest active losing streak in those close calls. It was also Haren’s first victory this season despite the fact that he had left three of his first four starts with a lead (the Angels lost all four of those games).

“I think Dan today became his own setup man,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “He got us to a great point in the game, really pitched well against a lineup with a lot of tough left-handed hitters.”

Jered Weaver tried to be the bulldog Friday night. But he allowed 11 baserunners in six innings and needed 115 pitches to keep it scoreless that far. The bullpen did the rest.

By contrast, Haren was much more low-maintenance. He got through his first six innings with just 85 pitches, allowing only four baserunners in that time.

“I think every game as a starting pitcher you want to go as deep as you can,” Haren said. “I had to stay on top of my game because the margin for error was pretty small. Kind of like Weave yesterday, I was able to make pitches when I needed to.”

The margin for error was indeed razor-thin again. The Angels have put the poor starts of the season’s first 10 days behind them and are now getting the kind of starting pitching they expected this season. Over the past seven games, Angels starters have an ERA of 2.74 with only Ervin Santana giving up more than three runs in a start.

The offense, meanwhile, has yet to find itself – with the possible exception of Hunter. He went 18 games and 77 at-bats without a home run to start the season but has one in each of the past two games against the Indians. He has hits in 10 of his past 12 games and is batting .333 (15 for 45) since a miserable weekend in New York.

Trouble is, Hunter hasn’t brought anyone along with him. He has driven in three of the Angels’ four runs in Cleveland and has three of their nine hits.

Albert Pujols’ early-season funk seems to grow deeper by the day.

Before the game, Scioscia acknowledged Pujols is “clearly not in sync.” He was 1 for 4 Saturday, setting up the Angels’ first run with a first-inning single. But his last three at-bats (two ground outs and a called third strike) gave further evidence of Scioscia’s sync-ing feeling and dropped Pujols’ average to .226. Pujols has ended April with a batting average over .320 seven times in his career and under .250 just once before (.245 last season).

His homer-less streak is now 21 games and 84 at-bats as an Angel, and Pujols has gone 12 games since his last RBI (one of only four he has this season).

“I think he’s going to hit a home run some time,” Scioscia said to the latest round of questions about Pujols’ slump. “I think he’s swinging the bat better than some of his numbers show. The power will be there and when it is we’ll be able to play the game on our terms more often.”

Pujols has begun to look caught in between, Scioscia acknowledged – “getting into some poor counts” by taking pitches early in counts against pitchers he has never seen before then being forced to “expand his zone” trying to get back into counts.

“You never know how things are going to fall into place when a guy changes leagues,” Scioscia said, pointing to Vladimir Guerrero as an example of a hitter who “came over and never skipped a beat.”

“It’s still a pretty small sample size we’re talking about,” he said to reporters. “If he still hasn’t hit a home run after 300 at-bats, I think we’ll have another conversation.”

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